Kavanaugh's Mission Base Camp Program Touches Lives

August 04, 2015

Kavanaugh Life Enrichment Camp and Retreat Center

With the financial support of the Kentucky Conference we have successfully launched the Mission Base Camp Program here at Kavanaugh Camp and Retreat Center. At this point in the summer we have had groups from the following churches participate in the program – Saint John UMC, Covenant UMC, Crestwood UMC, Highland UMC and a group of summer staffers from LOUCON. As is the case with most mission experiences, not only were the lives of the folks at the work site blessed but the lives of team members were changed forever as well.

We have several partner agencies associated with the program that provide the work sites for the various teams. Some of the most memorable experiences occurred at Apple Patch, a residential facility for mentally challenged adults located in the Crestwood area. The Highland UMC teams, composed primarily of middle school students, got to love on the residents and were loved in return. It was such a unique experience that one of the students, an aspiring videographer, produced a very compelling video that we have posted on our FACEBOOK page.

Teams from Crestwood UMC, Covenant UMC and Saint John UMC worked at Mission Crestwood, a ministry that provides food and clothing to those in need in Oldham County. All the hard work of unloading trucks of food stuffs, packing boxes for distribution, and sorting through clothing paid off when the team members got to see the smiling faces of those who received the needed items. Lives were touched as the recipients experienced the compassion of the team members and the team members were equally touched by the experience. In many instances the middle school students had never had contact with the poor who live among us.

The team composed of summer staffers from LOUCON worked at Wesley House Community Services Center, which is now located in what was Preston Highway UMC. These young men and women worked with a group on primarily African-American and Hispanic children. They assisted the director of the summer program by mentoring the children in in leadership development and life skills. The staff members also had the opportunity to deepen their relationships with each other and to share in times of prayer and devotion.

The Mission Base camp Program will continue to provide these kinds of experiences in the future. It is a year round activity and we anticipate that we will see adult as well as youth groups sign up to participate. Kavanaugh is ideally situated for this program since we are only 25 to 30 minutes from downtown Louisville. We also expect to expand the program to include a training element which will allow VIM and other teams to be properly prepared to offer services both overseas and at sites within the States. There are no limits to the potential this program can offer to the church as we attempt to reach those in need in our local communities and around the world.